Turtles released back into sea in Hainan (5)

Staff members release a sea turtle back into the sea in Lingshui Li autonomous county, south China’s Hainan province. (Photo/Liu Sunmou)

Eleven sea turtles, which were either rescued or confiscated by law enforcement, were recently released back into the sea at Lingshui Li autonomous county, south China’s Hainan province.

These turtles are able to forage in the ocean and fend for themselves after undergoing professional rewilding training. Staff members from the province’s department of agriculture and rural affairs and the China Sea Turtle Conservation Alliance attached satellite trackers to some of the turtles and placed two unique identification tags on each of them for future research purposes and with an aim to protecting the turtle species.

To better protect the species, China readjusted its list of key protected wild animals earlier this year, raising the protection level for the reptile to its strictest class at level I.